Humboldt County deputy shot; Mendocino County arrests suspect

A Mendocino County Sheriff's Office SWAT team early Wednesday morning arrested a homeowner who allegedly shot a Humboldt County deputy sheriff in the chest during a Tuesday afternoon civil eviction in Shelter Cove, according to Sheriff Tom Allman.

"The deputy's OK," Allman said. "The most important thing is that he was not killed. He had severe bruising from the bullet hitting his vest, but he'll be OK."

The MCSO had the closest armored vehicle and responded in mutual aid at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, according to Allman. The suspect, William Lloyd Nelson, 55, was holed up inside his home with access to guns, and the two counties' SWAT teams needed a safe vehicle to take them to the scene.

"He had been arrested before on weapons violations several years ago, so we knew he had high-caliber rifles," Allman said.

When the Humboldt County deputy and a sergeant arrived at a Kelly Lane home around 2:45 p.m. Tuesday to serve the court-ordered eviction, the suspect shot at the officers, striking the deputy in the chest, according to a Humboldt County Sheriff's Office press release. Both officers returned fire while fleeing from the residence and radioing for assistance.

Additional deputies, California Highway Patrol officers, the Humboldt County Sheriff's Office SWAT team and crisis response negotiators, and medical personnel responded to the scene. The Humboldt County Critical Incident Response Team -- investigators from Humboldt County law enforcement agencies -- also responded, according to the release.

The MCSO and Humboldt County Sheriff's Office each sent 11 SWAT members working in concert, and the armored Citizen Rescue Vehicle took members from both teams to Nelson's Kelly Lane home.

Allman said Humboldt County sent a robot inside and determined Nelson wasn't on the first two floors, but the robot couldn't get to the top floor. Early the next morning, he said, officers learned he wasn't inside the home and found him near the perimeter. Mendocino County SWAT members arrested Nelson without further incident at 3:30 a.m.

A CHP helicopter airlifted the injured deputy -- whose ballistic vest was credited with saving his life -- to a local hospital.

The Humboldt County Sheriff's Office said the investigation is ongoing.

Allman said the mutual aid response was all in a day's work.

"Humboldt County helps us at least six times a year with its bomb squad, and they don't charge us a penny," Allman said. "It was not a problem for us to help with this, because we can't afford a bomb team right now."